Passengers might pay a premium to fly out of Springfield but the average airfares reviewed by the News-Leader revealed a silver lining.

Although flights from Springfield-Branson National Airport tend to cost more than those at larger hubs, local fares have declined slightly while others have been on the upswing.

Adjusted for inflation, Springfield fares in the first quarter of 2013 were 5.6 percent lower than those in the first quarter of 2005, according to the prices sampled by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

The numbers, which pegged the average cost of a Springfield ticket at about $462 in 2013, compared to $490 eight years earlier, are based on a sampling of one-way and round-trip domestic fares in the first quarter of each year.

A USA TODAY analysis of fares at the 100 largest U.S. airports found that sampled prices increased an average of 6.5 percent nationwide in the same period after adjusting for inflation.

Of the large hubs nearest to Springfield, only St. Louis saw a decline in that period, with average fares dropping 4.7 percent from 2005 to 2013, while fares in Kansas City increased 7.3 percent.

The data shows that Tulsa, once a source of cheap flights for Springfield travelers willing to drive a few hours down Interstate 44, isn’t such a deal anymore.

Average fares from Tulsa increased 20.7 percent during the time period studied, ending at $446 — only $18 shy of Springfield’s average.

The decline in average Springfield airfare is noteworthy considering the number of available seats on airplanes flying out of Springfield declined 28.5 percent in the same period.

USA TODAY’s analysis of the top 100 airports in the continental U.S. found that airports that experienced at least a 25 percent decline in domestic seats since 2005 typically saw fares increase at about twice the average rate of 6.5 percent. Some airports that gained seats, meanwhile, saw prices decline.

The overall drop in ticket prices from Springfield bucks that trend — despite losing more than a quarter of the seats available in 2005, average airfare here decreased.

The entry of low-cost carrier Allegiant Air to the Springfield market in 2005 likely helped to bring the average cost of fares down by adding comparatively cheap and popular fares to Las Vegas and other tourist destinations.

Aviation consultant Michael Hynes said Allegiant, which flies on a limited schedule that may not be conducive to business travel, likely has not had much effect on the prices offered by the larger airlines serving Springfield.

“Allegiant does a nice job flying out of Springfield, but they’re not competing with the others,” he said.

Airfare data suggests the opening of the privately owned Branson airport may have helped rein in prices in Springfield, as well.

The first full year of fares from Branson, in 2010, coincides with a steep decline in fares in Springfield, which dropped from an average of $485 in 2008 to $415 in 2010. Springfield fares generally have risen since then, however. Branson fares increased, as well, before dropping 13 percent in 2013.

Scott Watson, who routinely flies from Springfield to Atlanta for work, said he frequently found cheaper flights from Branson on AirTran when the route was offered. “But the second that the AirTran flights stopped, I noticed a disproportionate increase in the price of the Delta flights (to Atlanta from Springfield).”

Hynes said he thinks the Branson airport “was certainly a factor in the equation,” but not the primary reason that prices declined. “I don’t think American and United were pricing their seats based on what’s happening in little old Branson.”

Whether the Branson airport will continue to be a significant presence is unclear. After buying AirTran in 2011 and taking some service to Branson, Southwest Airlines announced in December it will cease flights to and from Branson in June. Branson officials have yet to announce a replacement.

“That’s competition and we value competition,” said Springfield Airport Director Brian Weiler. But regardless of what happens in Branson, he doesn’t expect the market to change significantly.

“We are expecting slow but steady growth in services,” he said. “But the fares are not going to go down here — they’re not going to go down anywhere ...

“Airlines are not going to do that anymore. They won’t come unless they can make money.”